An Unexpected Week Off

After Monday's flights were done, the rest of the week was canceled for me, so I figured it would be a good time to work on some projects, get some things done around the house, and explore Bunia a little bit.  In Africa, it doesn't matter what it is, things always take longer.  Everything.  So Tuesday I went to the market to get some supplies and tools for wood projects that I want to build.  That took pretty much all day, going from store to store trying to get a decent price for it all.  Wednesday I worked on an arbor that goes over our entryway, so that the vines of passion fruit can climb up and over the other side.  It's all finished now, complete with a sitting bench and everything.  My arms were sore from cutting all the wood by hand.  I slept real well.  The next day I worked all day planing some wood that I bought for kitchen cabinets that I'm making for Joy.  If sawing by hand made my arms sore, planing by hand turned my muscles into jello.  I had to stop when the sun went down, I just didn't have anything left.  I did get one board completely planed though, so now it's on to sanding and cutting to size.  Friday we bought some living room furniture and I had them leave one chair unfinished so I could sand and stain it myself.  I worked on sanding most of the day, but I also got some replacement parts for both our toilets that broke.  I only fixed one, because I refused to pay the asking price for one of the parts I needed.  But hey, one is better than none, right!  While I was fixing the toilet, I noticed this little creature.  I'm not really sure what to classify it as, except for "creature."  A lot of things crawl up through our drain in the guest shower, why, I have no idea.  But I've seen 4" millipedes, spiders, cock roaches, all sorts of things, but never something that looked...or moved like this.  If you look real close, it kind of looks like a little millipede with some kind of shell or something.  I was intrigued by the way it was moving, and I love any excuse to postpone plumbing work, so I just sat and watched him crawl around for a minute.  And then it happened.  I saw his little head disappear inside and thought he must be scared or something.  Then, lo and behold, it popped out the other end and he started crawling backwards.  It was crazy.  So I ran to get Joy and the camera because I've never seen anything like this before.  I kept him alive just long enough to take a few photos, and then hit him with the DOOM.  Saturday, I worked on finishing the chair with mahogany varnish, had Kaitlyn help me with an oil change in the Land Cruiser, and played volleyball with some friends.  All in all, a good week.  Not what I expected, but a lot of fun and exploring.